Conclusion: Anti-Apartheid and the Emergence of a Global Civil Society

Abstract

H̄kan Th̲rn looks at anti-apartheid as part of the history of present global politics. He provides the first comparative analysis of different sections of the transnational anti-apartheid movement. A highly organized system of repression such as apartheid demanded organized resistance: from the late 1950s to the 1990s the anti-apartheid movement performed increasingly well-organized transnational collective action, based on a collective identity, an imagined community of solidarity activists, uniting people across large distances. Analyzing a part of 20th century post-war history mainly from a sociological perspective this book also highlights dimensions of globalization in an era in which we still live; the power of the media; and the power of collective action. Prologue: Apartheid as a Dark Side of Modernity -- Introduction: Anti-Apartheid, The Media and 'New Social Movements' -- Beyond Eurocentrism -- PART I: ANTI-APARTHEID IN GLOBAL CONTEXT -- Narratives of Transnational Anti-Apartheid Activism -- The Globalization of the Anti-Apartheid Movement -- National Politics in a Global Context: Anti-Apartheid in Britain and Sweden -- The Struggle Over Information and Interpretation -- PART II: PUBLIC DEBATES ON APARTHEID/ANTI-APARTHEID IN BRITAIN AND SWEDEN 1960-90 -- Beginnings: Sharpeville and the Boycott Debates -- Sports as Politics: The Battle of B̄stad and 'Stops the 70's Tour' -- 'A New Black Militancy' -- Before and After the Soweto Uprising -- Sharpeville Revisited and the Release of Nelson Mandela -- Conclusion: Anti-Apartheid and the Emergence of a Global Civil Society -- Epilogue: The Legacy of Anti-Apartheid.